It wasn’t always Fabio Muscat’s dream to lead the family business, having aspired to become a professional footballer in a not-so-distant previous life. He achieved his big break at 16 after signing a professional contract with a team in Italy. But, as fate would have it, during his stint in Italy he suffered an injury that forced him away from his passion, for what was supposed to be a period of two years.

It was during this time back home in Malta that he joined Ozo Group as a clerk. He grew to love his work and took the decision to prioritise the business over football, and most other things in his life.

“At the start, my father, Mario, wasn’t very pleased as he was keen for me to stick to football. But I was adamant,” recounts Fabio.

Asked whether his footballing experience has proved to be useful in his position as CEO, he says that “spending a year alone in Italy at the young age of 17 helped me to mature – I worked for my money; I was not dependent on anybody, and I learnt how to take decisions and prioritise my spending.

“It was a one-of-a-kind, lifetime experience and I encourage anybody who has the opportunity to do something similar, to go for it,” he adds.

Fabio was appointed to the position of CEO in 2016, after taking on various roles including in administrative and leadership positions. Ozo Group currently employs around 3,000 people and is the second-largest employer in Malta, after the Government. The company outsources service industry workers to a vast number of hotels and other organisations within the hospitality industry including, among others, housekeeping and security personnel, waiters, caregivers, clerks, accountants and receptionists.

Fabio does not mince his words when asked about the nuances of his role, its challenges and its rewards. “It isn’t very straightforward because it is a family business founded by my father 25 years ago. There are legacy issues and I have found that gaining respect can be challenging. Those who have been working with the company for some time see him as a father figure. I came up through the ranks because I wanted to learn the ropes from A to Z,” he explains.

With the gravitas of a more senior businessman, Fabio stresses that “the job is 24/7. It’s a big responsibility because, for starters, it’s a family business and there is our family name at stake. Being responsible for the livelihood of 3,000 people is also no small responsibility.”

Onto the brighter side of his role, Fabio describes a feeling of great satisfaction when “seeing a project completed from start to finish”.

One of his first major tasks following his appointment as CEO was to oversee the completion of the new Ozo Group business centre in Qormi. He explains that “it has taken about two years to complete the job. I was involved in the entire process: design, furniture sourcing, dealing with suppliers – the works. It was hectic; the challenge when the economy is performing well is to find contractors that are able to dedicate time to your project. But I learned so much along the way. You can never learn enough.”

Asked about the milestones of his career so far, apart from seeing the Ozo Group business centre up and running, Fabio is quick to say that that the company was among 400 handpicked by the London Stock Exchange to complete a two-year programme titled ‘Elite’, with the prestigious Cambridge and Harvard universities.

The programme covered a vast number of important topics, including the future at large, the regulatory environment and adapting to a world run by millennials.

Fabio muses that the hospitality industry in Malta has changed significantly over the years that the company has been in operation. The change is also evident in the standard of service expected. “With more hotels on the island, there is more competition. Three-star hotels now have more hotels to compete with, so they try to deliver a five-star service experience in order to keep up. This was not the case in the past,” he highlights.

Commenting on today’s scenario, Fabio contends that Malta’s high-performing economy brings with it its own challenges. “It’s difficult to find staff, but that is why it is important to stay innovative.” Asked to elaborate on this point, he speaks of a decision taken in 2014 to create the company’s very own Ozo Academy. “We are the only hospitality company to offer this service on the island. Apart from the Institute for Tourism Studies (ITS), we are the only organisation offering training of this kind.”

Fabio believes that the academy gives the company a competitive edge. “We do not assign personnel to our clients randomly. We take our role seriously and offer training on health and safety, personal grooming, customer care and different levels of housekeeping, among other important topics.

"It is our aim to give people a career path rather than a job. We have many success stories to be proud of and have helped countless people to climb the ladder to reach management positions.”

With so many employees from all over the world servicing a wide array of local companies, one would expect it to be difficult to run a tight ship. Fabio explains that this is only possible by having excellent managers, whom he trusts.

“They have climbed the rungs and know the business inside-out. I am very grateful that we do not have to worry whenever my father and I travel at the same time.”

Another significant achievement is the company’s consecutive successes at the European Business Awards – Ozo Group was in fact named in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 as a national winner in different sectors.

“Last year, we were awarded Best Business in the €0 to €25m turnover category. Being awarded for four years is a recognition of our consistency; it wasn’t a one-off or just a good year. For me, this is a huge milestone.”

Turning to the outlook for this year and the near future, Fabio reveals that in terms of servicing the hospitality industry, the organisation has reached saturation point and the Group has in fact begun to expand into the provision of personnel for the manufacturing industry.

“It’s a sector we ventured into a couple of years ago. We started with one client, but now we have multiple, providing them with hundreds of staff,” he says.

“Some factories had initially refused to outsource, but are now turning to us because they know they have a reliable partner that can deliver, and that recruitment becomes far less of a headache for them. Through us, they no longer need to dedicate time and resources to looking overseas for staff and learning different labour legislation and procedures.”

With this in mind, as well as exciting plans to expand into the aviation industry, Fabio proclaims that “the future is bright”.

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